Reactions to Mandatory Hijab Law: The Goal is to 'Marginalize the Main Issue'

The finalization of the 'Chastity and Hijab' law, which the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced will be implemented on December 14, has sparked widespread reactions. In this context, a humanities researcher told Voice of America that this law is created by the Islamic Republic to 'create a pseudo-issue to marginalize the main issue.' According to Mehryar Zafarmehr, a humanities researcher, 'In Iran after the 1979 Revolution, we witness the rule of decrees, fatwas, and divine commands' instead of 'the rule of law.' This civil activist also emphasized that 'we are not living under the rule of law now,' stating: 'What is called the law of hijab and chastity is creating a pseudo-issue by the Islamic Republic to sideline the main issue.' Mr. Zafarmehr stressed that 'the main issue today for the Iranian people is the reclaiming of national sovereignty and the return to the rule of law.' The approval and finalization of the law restricting women's freedoms and imposing mandatory hijab, introduced under the name 'Chastity and Hijab,' has also led to widespread reactions on social media. Maryam Lotfi, a journalist, pointed to cases of femicide, including the premeditated murder of Romina Ashrafi by her father, which resulted in only a 9-year prison sentence for the murderer, and the issuance of only eight years and two months of imprisonment for the husband of Mona Heydari, who beheaded this teenage girl, stating: 'However, based on the hijab law, sending a video or photo about hijab to individuals or foreign media for the first time carries a prison sentence of two to five years, and in case of repetition, five to ten years of imprisonment along with a fine of 330 to 500 million [tomans].' Hossein Ronaghi, a political and human rights activist, described this law as 'a new form of slavery and a declaration of war against all citizens,' calling it 'an attempt to violate individual freedoms and suppress the public.' He noted that 'the poverty imposed on the people in these years (which the Islamic Republic itself is responsible for) is being exploited by the government to turn poverty into a new tool of repression. Specifically, economic pressure is being used as a means to implement these policies and as leverage.' According to Mr. Ronaghi, the Islamic Republic is seeking 'to create financial opportunities for a select few in the government and the repressive apparatus' and also 'to create confusion and disrupt public comfort and security' in order to 'spy on people against each other and create an atmosphere of distrust in society on the brink of explosion and collapse.' Nima Namdari, a civil activist, also emphasized that 'in every clause of this hijab law, the lust for punishment and the enjoyment of exercising power is evident,' and 'one can imagine the pleasure they felt at the moment they wrote down such and such percentage of fines and such and such years of imprisonment.' Aliyeh Matlabi, a journalist, also emphasized that 'the economic aspect of this bill is very pronounced,' stating that this law is 'a form of extortion with force and ideological embellishment, ultimately emptying the pockets of the people.' Elaheh Khosravi, a journalist, stated: 'We should not let go of this chastity and hijab bill until it is annulled. This savagery must be destroyed somewhere.' However, Bahman Darolshafayi, a journalist, emphasized that 'the new law is atrocious,' stating: 'But some people talk as if not having a hijab does not carry any costs or penalties.' He added: 'Even now, women who do not wear hijab are deprived of many spaces, jobs, opportunities, and endure daily danger and anxiety.' Shahram Rafieizadeh, a journalist, also pointed to ongoing violence in society by men in families based on governmental laws, stating that 'the actions of the Islamic Republic to impose mandatory hijab and a religious lifestyle have reached a catastrophic point where, in Behshahr, Mazandaran, the uncle of a 14-year-old girl cut off both ears of this teenage girl. After local reactions to this violent crime, they had to arrest this uncle, who is reportedly a police officer himself.' The legal advisors group Dadban also pointed out the 'increase in punishments for women in Iran with lash torture due to non-compliance with mandatory hijab,' reporting that 'the number of women who are tortured with lashes for not adhering to mandatory hijab is on the rise; in other words, various forms of systematic violence against women are more visible than ever.' Dadban emphasized that 'lashes are not punishment, they are torture,' and recounted part of the personal account of Roya Hashemi, who stated: 'In all the moments I entered the courthouse to execute the sentence, even when I lay on the bed to be lashed, and the judge threatened me, I did not wear the mandatory hijab.' The restriction of women's freedoms under the guise of what is called the 'Chastity and Hijab Law' has been organized in 74 articles and 5 chapters and has been finalized after numerous back-and-forths among the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Discernment Council of the Islamic Republic. According to this 'law,' women who appear more than four times without mandatory hijab in 'real or virtual spaces' will face charges such as what is termed 'promoting or advertising nudity, immorality, unveiling, or improper clothing,' and will be sentenced to at least a fine of 330 million tomans. This punishment, 'at the discretion of the judicial authority,' will also include 'a ban on leaving the country for up to two years' and 'a ban on activity in virtual spaces from six months to two years,' and 'in subsequent instances,' the monetary penalty will increase to 500 million tomans with 'one degree of intensification.' Based on the published table of fines from degree one to degree eight of the Islamic Penal Code, the repetition of more than four times of appearing without the mandatory hijab as required by the Islamic Republic will lead to a penalty of monetary fine of degree four (up to 330 million tomans), and 'one degree of intensification' means increasing the monetary penalty to degree three (up to 500 million tomans). Women who do not comply with the governmental restrictions for mandatory hijab will be fined from five to 165 million tomans in the first four instances. On the other hand, based on Article 71 of this law, the government is obliged to allocate an annual budget for the provision of cameras for this plan to the command of the Islamic Republic's Law Enforcement Force. In a part of this law, designing or advertising items such as clothing, body, and toys, if claimed by its authors to be 'promoting nudity' and 'unveiling and improper clothing,' is recognized as a crime and will face monetary and supplementary penalties. According to this law, the presence of opponents of mandatory hijab in real or virtual spaces will lead to penalties for owners of virtual and non-virtual businesses, organizers of groups and tours, and platforms for audio or visual dissemination in virtual spaces.